Efficient Desulfurizer Recycling during Spent Lead-Acid Batteries Paste Disposal by Zero-Carbon Precursor Hypothermic Smelting.

Recycling of spent lead-acid batteries (LABs) is extremely urgent in view of environmental protection and resources reuse. The current challenge is to reduce high consumption of chemical reagents. Herein, a closed-loop spent LABs paste (SLBP) recovery strategy is demonstrated through NaMoO consumption-regeneration-reuse.

Short-term effects of wildfire on soil arthropods in a semi-arid grassland on the Loess Plateau.

Fires lead to dramatic shifts in ecosystems and have a large impact on the biota. Soil organisms, especially soil fauna, are often used as indicators of environmental change. At present, minimal attention has been paid to using soil fauna as an indicator of environmental change after a fire.

[Distribution of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and water stable aggregates of cropland with different soil textures on the Loess Plateau, Northwest China].

In this study, combined with field investigation and laboratory analyses, we assessed the distribution of soil organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous contents and their stoichiometric ratios, and the distribution of soil water stable aggregates along a soil texture gradient in the cropland of the Loess Plateau to understand the effect of soil texture and the regulation of soil aggregates on soil fertility in cropland. The results showed that, with the change from fine soils to coarse soils along the texture gradient (loam clay→ clay loam→ sandy loam), the contents of macroaggregates, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and their stoichiometric ratios decreased, while pH value and microaggregates content showed an opposite changing pattern. The contents of macroaggregates, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and C/P and N/P were significantly increased, but pH value and microaggregates content were significantly decreased with increasing the soil clay content.

[Stem biomass estimation models for dominant shrubs on the northern Loess Plateau of China].

A total of 200 stems of Caragana korshinskii and 210 stems of Salix psammophila were collected in the late August of 2015 in the Liudaogou catchment of Shenmu County, Shaanxi Pro-vince, China. Basal diameter (D), length (H), water content (W), fresh mass (W) and dry mass (W) were measured for each stem of the two species. Exponential and allometric equations were used to establish relationship models relating stem biomass to its morphological parameters.

[Effects of different re-vegetation patterns on soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in the wind-water erosion crisscross region, China].

This study was conducted to analyze the responses of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) to three typical re-vegetation patterns, i.e., grassland, alfalfa land and peashrub land on the Loess Plateau of China, and also to assess the dynamics of SOC and TN with re-vegetation age.

[Distribution characteristics of soil pH, CEC and organic matter in a small watershed of the Loess Plateau].

Soil chemical properties play important roles in soil ecological functioning. In this study, 207 surface soil (0-20 cm) samples were collected from different representative landscape units in a gully watershed of the Loess Plateau to examine the distribution characteristics of soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and organic matter, and their relations to land use type, landform, and soil type. The soil pH, CEC and organic matter content ranged from 7.

[Distribution of micronutrients in soils as affected by landforms in a loessial gully watershed].

Landform is the most important environmental factor influencing the distribution of soil micronutrients in the Loess Plateau and the well understanding of the effects is an important prerequisite for the estimation of soil micronutrients' availability and geochemistry in the Loess Plateau. This study was therefore conducted in a watershed of the loessial gully region to reveal the effects of landforms on profile distribution of soil micronutrients. Soil samples from 37 profiles were collected and total, available and adsorbed iron, manganese, zinc and copper were determined.

[Relationships between soil organic carbon and environmental factors in gully watershed of the Loess Plateau].

Understanding the distribution of organic carbon fractions in soils and their relationships with environmental factors are very important for appraising soil organic carbon status and assessing carbon cycling in the Loess Plateau. In this research, through field investigation and laboratory analysis, we studied the relationships between soil organic carbon and environmental factors in a gully watershed of the Loess Plateau. The environmental factors are landforms, land use conditions and soil types.